


Pickles and Poetry, Blue and Green

by DixieDale



Category: Clan O'Donnell - Fandom, Garrison's Gorillas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-19 17:26:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22346797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DixieDale/pseuds/DixieDale
Summary: Chief meets a girl, and it looks like love is in the air.  Well, why not, when they have so much in common?  Well, at least they COULD have a lot in common, if they both really work at it.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Pickles and Poetry, Blue and Green

**Author's Note:**

> Dear friend - here is the second part of your three-part Chief-related birthday present.

He was getting tired of being the one on the outside, looking in. Oh, not with the team; there he was solid, he knew that. But in the romance department? That was a different story. He almost wanted to laugh at himself for even hoping for something there. 

He'd done exactly that, sitting there having dinner with Casino, still shaking his head over that wild Valentine's Day card he'd gotten from 'Carol', whoever the hell Carol was. Talking about how it would've been nice, if you're gonna get a card, to get a card from someone you really knew and really liked. Of course, that meant he would have someone he'd be willing to send a card to in return. 

"Maybe not even a card. Maybe just the right kind of smile, the right someone saying, 'Happy Valentine's Day; I'm glad I could spend it with you.' Kinda like what Goniff was talking about, ya know?"

Casino had just looked at him like he was nuts, snorted and told another wild story, this time about Mimi McPherson and the oddball card she'd sent Casino right after he got sent away to prison. Said Chief didn't know when he had it good, that it was better not to have anyone latch onto you like that.

"Tell ya, Indian. That card from Mimi? Made me think prison was a hell of a lot safer than being loose! Damn!"

Chief thought at the time - {"He's brushing off what I'm trying to say, even though I don't know for sure what I AM trying to say. Not for sure."}. Somehow he'd thought talking it out would help him FIGURE it out, and he and Casino were friends, could talk about things maybe. But Casino just seemed to think Chief was being some starry-eyed romantic kid.

Well, maybe he was, maybe he wasn't.

But Valentine's Day, especially seeing Goniff's eyes light up with those two cards he HADN'T shared with the rest of them, that had stirred something inside him, some yearning, a need to have someone special, and it kept nagging at him; he'd tried to set all that aside, more than once, but it just kept coming back.

And it wasn't just a physical need; he got that taken care of when the urges got too strong. Josie down at the pub was usually accommodating, and there was an occasional opportunity on leave. If he didn't come up with someone, Casino was pretty good about knowing someone likely in the mood for what Goniff called 'a good toss.'

But that wasn't what he was looking for. Or, yeah, maybe it was; wasn't like he was going to turn it down, but he wanted MORE. Maybe not what Goniff had managed to find, he wasn't quite sure he was ready for that level of entanglement, that level of even-unspoken commitment. But more than a casual coupling with someone he'd not recognize on the street next month.

Oh, he didn't include Josie in that, but Josie wasn't looking for commitment either, or at least not with him. They were very casual friends who sometimes found themselves in bed together. 

No, he wanted to really BE with someone, someone who liked him just as he was. Someone he could just be himself with. Someone he liked just the way they were, knowing what he was seeing was the real deal. 

{"Well, maybe I AM looking for what Goniff has, after all,"}, he admitted to himself, knowing there were damned few masks or much pretending down at the Cottage.

So when pretty Lucy Jensen smiled at him, really smiled, not just a pretend smile, he found himself smiling back. If that was a surprise to him, it was a total shock to the guys on the team. Lucy Jensen was someone who worked up at HQ, someone who actually was NOT the female equivalent of a jerk or an asshole. Still, she didn't seem like someone who'd go for one of the guys.

That first time, Lucy had been the one to approach him. He wouldn't have had the nerve, most likely. They'd kept it light, just coffee and sandwiches at a place she knew, kind of a cross between a pub and a tea room. He learned she hated pickles of any sort, sweet, sour or spiced, while he loved them all. She learned that his smile was just as charming up close as it was from farther away; he found he really liked her laugh and sense of humor. She'd given him her phone number, and suggested he call her. He decided he just might do that.

Their next date had surprised both of them, neither really planning on ending up in bed together after a quiet dinner and a walk through the park. It was a little awkward, considering the lack of planning led to a frantic search for that box of condoms she'd bought when she first got to London 'just in case', but they quickly became comfortable enough to put a smile on each other's face another time or two by the time morning rolled around. Obviously Lucy was going to have to go shopping again, or Chief was going to have to be better prepared for what Actor called 'serendipitous happenstance'. 

Casino called it something else, of course, but somehow that didn't seem to fit the circumstances, not with Lucy. 

Actually, Goniff had snorted at what Casino called it, telling the safecracker sternly, "don't think that fits, not with Chief. Don't know that Chiefy's the sort to be trying for a fast go up against a wall in the alley be'ind a pub somewhere, Casino. Think maybe you're the only one who 'as a fancy for that. Acourse, don't know I much like 'serendipitous 'appenstance', neither. Maybe 'an unexpected nice time'?"

That got the Englishman laughed at by Casino, and frowned at by Actor, but Chief kinda like that wording the best.

He introduced her to the rest of the team the next leave they got, him walking away with her, his arm around her shoulders, promising the guys to meet up with them later. Later didn't come, and Casino grumped, "looks like SOMEBODY got lucky, anyway. Sorry, Limey - someone's having 'an unexpected nice time'. That okay?? Hope to hell he's not getting himself in trouble with that broad."

Well, CASINO hadn't gotten lucky, for a change, and wasn't too sure he was in the mood anyway. Instead, the safecracker brushed off the advances of that busty blonde and had instead picked a fight with the largest guy in the room. It was with more than a little difficulty Actor and Goniff pulled him out before it got nasty. 

"Next time you're in a snit and looking to get your brains knocked out, maybe choose someone NOT built like a ruddy tank??! 'Im and 'is mates?" Goniff said in an exasperated voice. He'd been set for a nice couple rounds of drinks, and now they were headed back to their rooms, bruises aplenty between the three of them, lugging a pissy-minded Casino with them.

Chief heard the story the next morning and just shook his head. 

"Goniff's right, Pappy; gonna get your head handed to you one of these days."

The gruff questions about his own activities, he brushed off. 

"My business, Pappy, not yours," was all Casino got, and Goniff and Actor didn't bother to ask. After all, they agreed. Chief would tell what he wanted to tell and when. Wasn't like with Casino, not so much anyway, where they'd expect trouble to be following along behind.

Now Chief would usually disappear with the pretty little brunette when he and the guys hit London, coming back with a satisfied smile, though not as quick to boast about his activities as Casino would have been. And sometimes a call would come through for him, and if he was there and Lieutenant Garrison felt it was okay, he'd head down to the pub, or maybe even to the next village over to keep out of the public eye so much. That was after Garrison took him aside, offered a few warnings about what to say and not to say about the team, the jobs. At least the Lieutenant hadn't treated him like he was some damn fool kid; the words were pretty much what Garrison would have delivered to the others. Well, except for Actor, maybe.

"So, this Lucy Jensen. W'at's she like? Know we've seen 'er, but w'at's she LIKE?" Goniff finally asked, when it seemed like Chief was headed out on his own more and more. 

Frankly, the pickpocket was finding it all a little puzzling, and maybe even a little worrisome. Still, it was Chief's life to live, even if Goniff had thought things would work out differently than his friend ending up with some Lucy Jensen, no matter how pretty she was. He just hoped Lucy was someone who really appreciated Chief, wasn't stringing him along.

"She's funny. And smart. Likes red and green. Hates blue, says it makes her look sallow, whatever that means. Likes poetry, even belongs to one of the groups that sit around reading the stuff to each other. Mostly stuff they write themselves. Hates pickles. You already know she's pretty. I LIKE her, a lot; I think she likes me too. We're getting to know each other real good."

Yes, they were, and they were really working at that. Maybe a little too hard, even.

Chief found himself focusing on what Lucy seemed to like, based on what she said and on what caught her attention when they were out and about. After all, he figured they were lovers now, that it was expected. He figured that was something lovers did, part of what made a 'lover' different from a 'friend with benefits'. Another way to know her, another way to know what pleased her - another way TO please her.

He found himself trying real hard to change himself in some areas, to fall more in line with that. He sat through a poetry reading that made him think wistfully of Actor's far better performance; the next one made him think wistfully of the rude limmericks Goniff could come out with. 

He tried to force himself to pretend to like that tie she'd gotten him; the one he'd hid in the Library as soon as he got back, and let the exact location flow out of his mind. Wasn't like he really wanted to remember that green and black article; he was just thankful he'd been able to get the look of shock off his face and replace it with a grateful smile before she noticed how repulsive he thought it was. Oh, he WAS grateful; it had been nice of her to get him a present. He just wasn't grateful enough to WEAR that thing!

He was getting the idea she might be kinda doing the same thing, trying to do what was expected because they were lovers. It seemed likely, because he could see her eyes narrow in thought as she tried to figure out the right thing to say or do. He knew HE did that, trying to fit his words to fit in with what she'd be pleased with. Still, it bothered him, at least a little, to think she was doing the same. It was one thing for him to try and change himself to be what she wanted; that made sense considering who he was. But her? For both of them to be trying to change themselves, that just felt wrong.

She started wearing more blue, mostly blue even. He figured that was just because he'd said it was his favorite color. He knew for a fact that she'd told him she liked green and red and brown, but blue made her feel sallow, whatever the hell that meant. It hadn't sounded like something she thought was a GOOD thing. It was a little uncomfortable thinking she was willing to wear a color she really didn't like, just to please him, when he wasn't willing to wear that tie.

It was the day they were having a late lunch at her flat when it hit them both, what they'd been doing, all in the pursuit of that ever-so-tempting 'dream' they both shared - a dream of having someone to love and having them love you back - someone who liked you just as you were, someone you liked just as they were, neither having to make changes to be 'acceptable'.

For her, it was when she realized she was dutifully downing those pickles that came with her take-out sandwich.

Funny enough, it was that same thing that opened his eyes, made him speak up. He hadn't noticed, til her mouth made that involuntary little moue, then he realized.

"You hate pickles, Lucy. Why are you eating the pickles?" he asked when he finally noticed.

"Well . . ." she said, wrinkling her nose. "YOU like them, so I thought I should . . ."

He snorted. 

"Spit the damned thing out, Lucy," and thanking him with her eyes, she grabbed her napkin and did exactly that, then chugging a full glass of water to get the vile taste out of her mouth, before heaving a deep sigh of relief that caused both of them to break out in a rueful laugh.

That gave her the courage to ask something she'd been wondering about.

"That poetry reading you said you'd come to later. Do I need to tell you to 'spit the damned thing out', Chief? I have the feeling it's not really your favorite way to spend the afternoon. Tell the truth," she cautioned him, a smile starting to twitch at the corner of her mouth.

He paused, then nodded. 

"Sooner have a tooth pulled. I mean, Lucy, I don't know all that much about poetry, but I've heard Actor and the Lieutenant, quoting a lot of it - and Lucy - your friends? They can come up with some of the worst rhyming I've ever heard, and most of it don't even make good sense."

She giggled. "It's not always supposed to rhyme, you know," she teased. "Nor necessarily make sense. It's POETRY!"

"Well, I guess they've got it down pat, then, cause it sure don't, unless they're really TRYING for the kind Actor calls doggerel - and not the kind that's SUPPOSED to be funny. You know, the kind that's bad because you're INTENDING it to be bad."

They ate a few more bites of their sandwiches, the rest of Lucy's dish of pickles silently making their way to Chief's plate.

"Lucy? You should go back to wearing red, or green or something else. Forget wearing blue."

"But you LIKE blue!" she said, with a mockingly haughty look. She was starting to enjoy this conversation; it might be taking them in a direction different than where either of them had intended, but it was honest. The kind of conversation you would have with a good friend, someone you could really relax with.

He shrugged, "sure, but you don't, and I finally figured out what 'sallow' means, and you were right."

She almost got choked on her egg salad at that blunt assessment, but countered with her own observation.

"I haven't seen you wear that tie I gave you," she chided him, watching him carefully to see response.

"And you won't. Hid it away from the guys, so they wouldn't see it, and forgot where I put it," he admitted, looking a little sheepish.

"Forgot, maybe on purpose?" her lips quivering.

He was worried she might take it wrong, started to apologize when he realized it wasn't hurt making her mouth twitch like that, it was her trying to keep from laughing.

She gave in, uttering a rueful laugh. 

"This isn't going to work, is it?"

And he surprised himself, found himself laughing right along with her. 

"I think maybe it DID work, Lucy. Helped me figure out a few things, maybe you too. And like a friend of mine would say, we had one hell of a good time, didn't we?"

"Yes, Chief, we did. In fact, if you would like, we could continue having that 'one hell of a good time', at least for the rest of the weekend. I went shopping earlier in the week, and well . . ."

He thought it over, well, for about two seconds, then gave that so rare smile. "You know something? I think I'd like that just fine!" reaching out to pull her into his arms.

Only now, with neither of them focused in trying TOO hard to make the whole thing come together, turn into love-forever-after - recognizing it wasn't something that WAS going to come together? Now they both relaxed enough to just play and enjoy the coupling and teasing and talking. Again and again and again, til all they could do was lay next to each other and laugh weakly at the ceiling. Chief wasn't all too sure he was gonna be able to walk back to the jeep when the weekend was over, but figured he'd worry about that later.

And in the years to come, when they'd think about their brief interlude, it wasn't with bitterness over 'the one that got away', it was with fond remembrance of a good time shared between two good friends. Along with a goodly measure of relief at not mistaking 'fondness' and 'appreciation' and 'friendship' for anything else. Not mistaking 'if I try really hard, I can change myself to be good enough' for 'really good for each other'. Not mistaking 'someone I could love, IF they were a little different,' for 'someone I love.' And, really, that was all good stuff to know.

"So, you and Lucy gonna spend the next couple a days together?" Casino asked. They'd finally gotten another pass and were headed up to London. 

"Naw, she's seeing some guy from Recon, I think. Think they might still be together; they were a few weeks ago. Think they might do okay together, too."

"It didn't work out, then," was offered in a gruff, forceably-offhand manner.

"Naw, no future in it, Pappy. She hates pickles and I'm not that much for bad poetry, never mind the whole blue/green thing."

And if that left the other guys standing there, mouths open, shaking their heads, looking at each other with a clear 'what the shit did he just say??!' look on their faces, Chief was fine with that. HE knew what he meant, anyway. He glanced around and gave an impatient jerk of his head.

"Come on, I'll treat you to the first round," Chief offered. "But no starting any bar fights, Pappy, not tonight. And don't say "I'll try!" or "it wasn't me, it was the other guy!" I know you too damned well. Just flat out - DON'T GO STARTING ANY BAR FIGHTS!"

Then he gave a smirk that would have done Goniff justice. 

"Cause tonight? I'M intending to be the one to throw the first punch! What about Denny's place, over on Ruby Lane? They still got that bouncer with the bad attitude, right, Goniff?"

Actor was protesting the idea of starting OUT with the idea of getting in a bar fight, Goniff was grinning at the friendly wrangling going on, while making plans to duck out of the way if anything came flying his way.

They were still arguing about whether it really WAS a night on the town without a good bar fight, and which of them had rights to call dibs on the first punch - all the way out the door and down the hall. And the explanation they gave Garrison when he bailed them out? Frankly he didn't understand or believe a word of it!

End Note: 'Love begins with love; and the warmest friendship cannot change even to the coldest love.' La Bruyère


End file.
